NOW is the time to push ahead with plans for Gamesley's very own railway station, according to Glossop planners.

High Peak's Executive Committee will decide on Tuesday whether to give the proposal the official thumbs-up.

If the answer is yes, this will mean commissioning a feasibility study and allocating funding of £325,000.

A report presented to the committee says that with a new access road built into the local plan, "the time is now right to pursue the station project in earnest".

Previously residents had feared hopes for a station may never be realised, but last year train operating company Serco and Ned Rail confirmed its interest in taking over the franchise for the Glossop to Manchester line.

And sustainable transport organisation Sustrans is believed to be submitting a planning application within the next two months as part of the TransPennine Bridleway proposals, which may benefit the station.

The application could involve putting a bridge in place, a feature that has always been the most expensive and difficult part of the station project.

Research by the High Peak and Hope Valley Transport Partnership has also highlighted demand, something that Gamesley councillor Anthony McKeown knows too well.

"If you talk to some of the people who've been up on the estate since the '60s they were promised a station when they moved up there," said Councillor McKeown.

"But for whatever reason it never came through.

"It would be a vast improvement."

County Councillor David Wilcox, executive member for external affairs, has been working with Councillor McKeown to keep the station at the top of the agenda.

He said: "This is really good news. Now is the nearest it's been for the last 25 years.

"Bringing all these interests together, including the council and the train operator really gives us an opportunity we've not really had."